Desk structure



F. s. KNOLL DESK STRUCTURE Jan. 28, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 9. 1956 INVENTOR.

EOIPtA CE 5 Kim;

mm TD AZTOK/VEV Jan. 28, 1958 F. s. KNQLL 2,821,450

DESK STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 9, 1956 GSheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR. fie/ewes 5T KNozL Jan.. 28, 1958 F. s. KNOLL 2,821,450

I DESK STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 9, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. ['ZOREA/CE ST/( 04;

, BY 713M! 341% ATTORNEY F. s. KNOLL DESK STRUCTURE Jan. 28, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 9, 1956 E o/efA/ci g fiwi L B Y 7PM J, DMLW United States Patent DESK STRUCTURE Florence S. Knoll, New York, N. Y., assignor to Knoll Associates, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 9, 1956, Serial No. 603,077

4 Claims. (Cl. 312-411) This is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Serial No. 320,021, filed November 12, 1952, entitled Multiple Desk Unit and Means for Connecting Elements Thereof.

This invention relates to desks and the like, particularly for use in business ofiices.

In modern offices, space requirements present a ditficult problem. It is desirable to have a large amount of working surface for each office worker, and it is also desirable to have a substantial amount of storage space for stationery or the like. It is also essential that each worker have some degree of privacy, to ensure against distraction by noises and conversations unrelated to his work. However, floor space is becoming more and more expensive, particularly in the more congested areas and there is an increasing tendency to crowd more and more oifice workers into smaller spaces.

An object of the present invention is to provide a compact desk structure which will supply an increased amount of working space as compared to the desk structures of the prior art.

Another object is to provide an improved desk structure of the type described which will provide more storage space than the prior art structures.

Another object is to provide an improved L-shaped desk. A further object is to provide such a desk in which the length of one side of the L is adjustable.

A further object is to provide an improved desk and screen combination for enhancing the privacy of a worker at the desk.

Another object is to provide structures of the type described which may be arranged in multiple units.

Another object is to provide a desk of the type described which is structurally simple and compact, and lends itself readily to modern mass production techniques.

Another object is to provide an improved drawer for the storage of stationery in a desk or the like.

The foregoing objects of the invention are attained in the structures described herein by providing an L-shaped desk structure including a main desk having a flat top and a side desk, also having a flat top but located at a somewhat lower level than the top of the main desk, so that one end of the side desk may be received under an end of the main desk. Supports are provided for the two opposite ends of the main desk and for the end of the side desk remote from the common corner of the two desks. The end of the side desk nearest the common corner is supported on the main desk. A screen is provided which may be attached along the back side of either the main or side desks and which preferably extends above the working surface level, so as to increase the privacy at each of two desks which are close together. The desks may be arranged in closely abutting multiple units. Provision may be made for adjusting the position of the side desk relative to the main desk so as to change the total working area available at the two desks.

The desk may be provided with an improved stationery 2,8 2 1,450 Patented Jan. 28, 1958 storage drawer which is open at the front and is tilted downwardly toward the rear so that stacks of stationery supported in the drawer described tend to move toward the rear rather than through the open front.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and claims, taken together with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a multiple unit assembly of four desks constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line V-V of Fig. 7;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary the line VI-VI of Fig. 8;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the multiple desk assembly shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII- VIII of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a single L-shaped desk embodying a modification of the invention;

Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of the desk of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a front elevational view of the desk of Fig. 9;

Fig. 12 is a rear elevational view of the desk of Fig. 9;

Fig. 13 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along the line XIII-XIII of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section on the line XIV-XIV of Fig. 15, on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 15 is a sectional XV of Fig. 13.

of two of the desks of sectional view taken along view taken along the line XV Figs. 1 to 8 These figures illustrate a multiple unit desk assembly comprising four L-shaped desk units respectively indicated by the reference numerals 1, 2, 3 and 4. Each of the four units consists of a main desk generally indicated in each case by the reference numeral 5, and a side desk generally indicated by the reference numeral 6. Between the desk units 1 and 3 is located a screen 7, and a similar screen 8 is located between the desks 2 and 4. The screens 7 and 8 abut against each other and are fastened together at 9.

The four desk units are similar in construction and it is therefore necessary to describe only one of them in detail. The desk unit 3 will be so described.

The main desk 5 of the unit 3 comprises a flat top plate 10 supported on a framework including an A-frarne 11 at its outer end (i. e., the end remote from the corner of the L-shaped unit), and another A-frarne 12 at its inner end (i. e., the end at the corner of the L- shaped unit). Each A-frame comprises two vertical legs such as 11a and 11b, a top horizontal crossbar as shown at in Fig. 1 and an intermediate horizontal crossbar 11d which connects intermediate points on the legs 11a and 11b. The frame supporting the desk top 1 also includes longitudinal frame members 12, 13 and 14 which are located immediately under and adjacent the top plate 10. Another lognitudinal frame member 15 extends between the intermediate crossbars 11d and is connected to the longitudinal bar 13 by two uprights 16. The various frame members are made of hollow material of rectangular cross-section, as shown, for example, at 12a in Fig. 4. A storage box 17, sometimes referred to as a pedestal, is attached (by any suitable conventional means,

not shown) to the A-frame 11 and to the logitudinal bar 15 just under the outer end of the top plate 10. The storage box 17 may be of any conventional form. It may, for example, contain drawers or a cabinet with a swinging door and may be utilized as a storage space for a typewriter. Alternatively, it may be a stationary storage cabinet of the type described in Figs. 14 and 15, below.

A side desk 6 comprises a top plate 18 supported at its outer end on a storage box or pedestal 19 having a pair of legs 20 and 21. The storage box 19 may serve any of the purposes just mentioned for the storage box 17. The inner end of the top plate 18 projects under the top plate 10 and is provided on its inner end with a connector by which it may be attached quickly to the longitudinal bar 13. This connector is best illustrated in Fig. 5. The bar 13 is there shown as being of hollow square cross-section. A bolt 21 extends through the bar 13 from top to bottom and has its lower end threaded into the end of a horizontal arm of an L-shaped bracket 22, whose vertical arm extends upwardly through a bushing 23 in the top plate 18. The upper end of the L.- shaped bracket 22. is slotted to receive a locking plate 24. A pin passes transversely through the slotted end of bracket 22 and also through an elongated slot 24a in the locking plate 25. When the plate 24 is in the position shown in Fig. 5, then it forms a T-shaped configuration with the upper end of the L-shaped bracket 22, and the two pieces cooperate to support the end of the top plate 18 and to hold it firmly in abutting engagement with the longitudinal bar 13. The locking plate 24 is slidable with respect to the pin 25 so as to bring its left end into alignment with the upright of the L- shaped bracket. The locking plate 24 may then be rotated through an angle of 90 to align it with the upright of the L-shaped bracket 22 so that the top plate 18 may be lifted off the L-shaped piece for the purpose of separating the side desk from the main desk.

A suitable form of connection between the abutting ends of the screens 7 and 8 is illustrated in Fig. 3. there shown, each of the screens 7 and 8 is constructed of three plies or layers including covering layers 26 and 27 and center layers 28. At each end of the screen the center layer 28 is closed by a channel shaped member 29, having an open side toward the edge of the screen and flanges abutting against the covering layers 26 and 27. A locking bar 30 is inserted in the space defined by the two facing and abutting channel sections 29. The locking bar 30 may be fastened in place by any suitable conventional means such as rivets or bolts.

Fig. 4 illustrates a connection between the A-frame 12 and the screen 7. The screen 7 is provided in its central layer 28 with a bushing 31. A nail 32 is driven through the bushing from a suitable opening to lock it against rotation and to provide an internal stop. 33 extend through the legs 12a of the adjacent A-frames on both sides of the screen 7, through spacers 34 into threaded holes in the outer layers 26 and 27 of the wall 7, and thence into the bushing 31. Two such connections are provided for each of the A-frames nearest the screen, as shown in Fig. 7. The spacers 34 have the same dimension as the overhang of the top plate 10 beyond the A-frame 12. In this way the screen 7 is maintained vertical and flush with the end surfaces of the top plates 10, as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 illustrates a connection between the leg 20 and the screen 7. The storage box 19 is attached to the leg 20 by means of a bolt 35 and a nut 36. A spacer 37 encircles the bolt 35 between the leg 20 and the storage box 19. On the side nearest the screen 7, the spacer 37 is provided with an aperture to receive one end of a rod 38, whose opposite end is provided with a shoulder 38a and a threaded projection 38b which extends through a suitable opening in the outer covering 2'7 of the screen 7 and into a bushing 39- held in place. in

Bolts the inner layer 28 by means of a nail 40. The connection illustrated in Fig. 6 cooperates with the connections at the A-frame 12 (one of which is shown in Fig. 4) to maintain the screen parallel to the top plate 18 throughout its length.

As shown in Fig. 7, the end of the side desk top plate 18 of the desk unit 4 extends under the back edge of the top plate 10 of the desk unit 3. By using screens 8 of different horizontal lengths, the dimensions of the portion of the plate 13 which underlies the plate 10 may be varied, thereby changing the overall dimensions of the L-shaped unit to suit the space requirements.

Instead of mounting the screen 7 parallel to the back side of the side desk top plate 18, the screen may be mounted parallel to the back of the top plate 10 of the main desk. If desired, screens could be mounted in both locations on any particular L-shaped unit.

Figs. 9 to 15 These figures illustrate a modified form of L-shaped desk unit and cooperating screen structure which may be used in place of the L-shaped desk units 1, 2, 3, 4 of Figs. 1 to 8. The unit shown in these figures includes a main desk 41 and a side desk 42. A screen 43 is mounted along the back edge of the side desk 42. The main desk 41 comprises a top plate 46 supported at its ends on two A-frames 44, each comprising a front leg 44a, a back leg 44b, a top crossbar 44c and an intermediate crossbar 44d, as best seen in Fig. 11. A longitudinal bar 45 extends horizontally between the intermediate crossbars 44d. The intermediate crossbars 44d and the longitudinal bar 45 are located substantially below the middle of the legs 44a. A storage box 47 is mounted on the longitudinal bar 45 and is attached by suitable connections to the A-frame 44. By having the upper surface of the storage box 47 abut against the under side of the top plate 46, as best seen in Fig. 10, the rigidity of the connection between the top plate 46 and the adjacent A-frame 44 is improved. Consequently, the upper longitudinal bar 13, used in the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1, may be omitted. A knee-hole closing screen panel 41a is attached at one end to the storage box 47 and extends along the back of the main desk to the leg of the A-frame 44 nearest the common corner of the main and side desks.

The side desk 42 comprises a top plate 48 supported at one end on a pedestal or storage box 49 having two legs 50 and 51. The box 49 is intended for storage of stationery, and the details of its construction are described below in connection with Figs. 14 and 15.

The screen 43 is mounted by means of suitable connectors at each of two vertically spaced locations on the back of the storage box 49 and also at two vertically spaced locations on each leg of the A-frame 44 at the corner of the L-shaped unit, as illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13. The main desk 41 is shown in Fig. 10 as having the end surface of its top plate 46 in vertical alignment with the outer sides of the legs of the A-frame 44. As best seen in Fig. 13, a bolt 52 extends through the screen 43 and through the leg 44b and is fastened at its end by means of a nut 53. An angle bracket 54 has one of its arms held on the bolt 52 by the nut 53. The other arm of the bracket 54 is attached by screws 55 to the back screen panel 41a of the main desk 41.

A bolt 57 extends through the screen 43 and through one side of the leg 44a. A nut 58 located inside the hollow leg 44a, threadedly engages the inner end of the bolt 57. A screw 59 extends through the screen 43 and through a hollow spacer 60, and has its end threadedly engaging the back wall of the storage box 49.

The end of the top plate 48 which extends under the top plate 46 is supported on the top plate 46 by a mechanism best illustrated in Figs. 14 and 15. This mechanism includes a pair of guide members 61 attached to the under side of the top plate 43 by any suitable means. The guide members 61 are generally channel shaped in cross-section and have the margins of the flanges of the channels bent over toward one another to provide a guideway of rectangular cross-section having a longitudinally extending slot 61a at the center of its bottom. A pair of bolts 62 have their heads received in recesses in the under side of the top plate 48. The shanks of the bolts 62 extend upwardly through the top plate 48, through cylindrical spacers 63 and into the slots 61a at the bottom of the guides 61. Inside its associated guide 61, each bolt 62 carries a nut 64 of square configuration which slides along the inside of the guideway 61 as the side desk 42 is moved in and out under the top plate 43. After a position of the side desk with respect to the main desk has been selected, it may be fixed by tightening the bolts 62.

The storage box 49 is especially constructed for the storage of stationery, and is best illustrated in Figs. 14 and 15. The storage box 49 includes a front door 66 hinged at the side by any suitable conventional structure such as that illustrated at 67. Inside the storage box 49, the side walls thereof are provided with three sets of guide rails 68 projecting inwardly into the box and tilted so that their front ends are higher than their back ends. Each set of guide rails 68 supports a sliding drawer generally indicated at 69 and comprising a pair of side walls 70, a back wall 71 and a bottom 72. Each drawer 69 is open at the front and is provided with a pair of vertical partitions 73 best seen in Fig. 14, which support a plurality of partitions 74, parallel to the base. Each partition 74 has its front edge set back from the front edge of the partition 74 immediately below it so as to provide ready access to each of the storage spaces between the partitions. The bottom 72 and each of the partitions 74 provides a storage space to receive a stack of stationery. Each of the stacks is readily accessible at the front of the particular storage space.

An angle bracket 75 is attached to the front edge of the bottom 72 of each drawer and serves as a drawer pull. Bumpers 76 are provided on the inner side of the back wall of the storage box 49 to limit the backward movement of the drawers. Suitable spacing blocks may be provided in the several storage spaces to maintain the front edges of the respective stationery stacks aligned with the drawer opening. Because of the tilted angle at which the drawers are supported, and since they always move along a tilted path, the stacks of stationery always tend to move toward the back of the drawers and hence do not fall out through the open front ends. The open front nevertheless provides ready access to all parts of the drawer.

While I have shown and described certain preferred embodiments of my invention, other modifications thereof will readily occur to those skilled in the art, and I therefore intend my invention to be limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Desk structure comprising a main desk including an oblong top, means defining a recess below said top and adjacent one end of the desk and opening inwardly from the front side thereof, a side desk including an oblong top, means supporting and connecting said tops in an L- shaped configuration with one end of said side desk top received within said recess and projecting therefrom substantially at right angles to the main desk top, said supporting and connecting means comprising separate supports for the ends of the tops remote from the corner of the L-shaped configuration, leg means supporting the corner end of one only of the tops, and a supporting connection between the corner end of said one top and the corner end of the other top, said supporting connection including means shiftable to adjust the position of the side desk top within the recess, to vary the accessible area of the side desk top.

2. Desk structure as defined in claim 1, in which said shiftable means is continuously shiftable over a predetermined range of positions of the side desk with respect to the main desk, and includes means for fixing the side desk with respect to the main desk at any locality within said range.

3. Desk structure as defined in claim 1, in which said leg means supports the corner end of the main desk top, and said supporting connection comprises a pair of elongated parallel guide members attached to the under side of the main desk top and extending at right angles to the long dimension thereof, each said guide member having a cross-section of inverted channel shape, with downwardly depending side flanges, having marginal portions bent over toward each other, each said guide member defining a guideway of rectangular cross-section having a longitudinally extending slot in the center of its bottom, a pair of rectangular nuts, one in each of said guideways, with its internally threaded aperture aligned with the slot therein, and a pair of bolts having shanks extending upwardly through the side desk top plate and threadedly engaging said nuts, said bolts having heads engaging the under side of the top plate.

4. Desk structure comprising a main desk including an oblong top, means defining a recess below said top and adjacent one end of the desk and opening inwardly from the front side thereof, a side desk including an oblong top, means supporting said tops in an L-shaped configuration with one end of said side desk top received within said recess and projecting therefrom substantially at right angles to the main desk top, said supporting means comprising separate supports for the ends of the tops remote from the corner of the L-shaped configuration, leg means supporting the corner end of one only of the tops, and means, including the corner end of said one top, supporting the corner end of the other top, said lastnamed supporting means being shiftable to adjust the position of the side desk top within the recess, to vary the accessible area of the side desk top.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 134,298 Eppenstein Nov. 10, 1942 D. 165,707 Buehler Jan. 22, 1952 D. 169,375 Knoll Apr. 21, 1953 1,110,948 Langdon Sept. 15, 1914 1,247,712 Ohnstrand Nov. 27, 1917 1,357,050 Hathorne Oct. 26, 1920 1,549,586 Marsh Aug. 11, 1925 2,176,913 Mandel Oct. 24, 1939 2,532,041 Thompson Nov. 28, 1950 2,545,253 Bergson Mar. 13, 1951 2,614,017 Mugnier Oct. 17, 1952 2,636,224 Murdoch Apr. 28, 1953 2,658,810 Ellis Nov. 10, 1953 2,694,614 Dent Nov. 16, 1954 2,708,292 Budai May 17, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 475,510 Italy Nov. 3, 1952 

